"What? Fenris, do you even realize what you're saying?"
Thor's eyes widened as he stared at Fenris, who was actually defending his notoriously untrustworthy brother. Disbelief was written all over his face.
"You have no idea what kind of outrageous things Loki has done. I'd sooner believe he could lift Mjolnir than believe he'd turn over a new leaf."
Upon hearing Thor's words, the frozen Loki tightened his grip around Gungnir before ultimately closing his eyes in resignation.
After more than a thousand years of deception, he had completely exhausted whatever trust Thor once had in him.
"That idiot Thor went all the way to Midgard and still didn't learn a damned thing."
Loki was frantic, but unable to move so much as a finger, all he could do was seethe helplessly inside his own mind.
"You Midgardian! Hurry up and think of a way to convince that stubborn jackass!"
Laufey had mobilized all of Jotunheim's elite forces and was leading them along the route Loki had discovered, bypassing the Bifrost and heading straight for Asgard.
Time was now of the essence. With Asgard completely unprepared, every minute of delay would bring it closer to disaster.
And now, unable to move, Loki could only place all his hopes in the man who had beaten him within an inch of his life moments earlier.
"How ironic."
Bitterness filled Loki's heart as he pricked up his ears and listened in silence.
"Thor, Asgard isn't only your home. It's Loki's home too."
Fenris thought back to everything he had heard about Loki. Although he still had his doubts about the warning Loki had sent, something this serious was better believed than dismissed. What if it was true?
Fenris completely understood Thor's suspicions. But unlike Thor, he had set his sights on the Casket of Ancient Winters from the very beginning. He wasn't about to retreat over a baseless assumption—
Wanda was still frozen inside the ice.
After a moment's thought, Fenris tried another approach.
"Look at what happened to Sif and the others, Thor. Are you really going to abandon the conviction you only just regained because you're afraid this might be another one of Loki's schemes?"
"Yes, yes! Exactly! That's what you should say!"
Fenris's words rekindled a glimmer of hope in Loki's heart. Although he still couldn't move, he was nodding furiously in his mind.
"Midgardian, who would have thought that the person who understands me best in this world would be you?"
"Come on! Hurry!"
Thor's reply, however, made Loki's heart sink.
"No, Fenris. I've simply learned to think like a mature king."
"Perhaps we should take more time to consider how we can solve the problem Loki created without threatening the peace of the Nine Realms, instead of recklessly charging in."
"You…"
Fenris stared at Thor as though he were looking at a completely different man.
Was this really the same Thor who had known nothing but raising his hammer and charging into battle?
Odin's plan had undoubtedly worked, but hadn't it worked a little too well?
Fenris studied Thor for a long moment, realizing that there was no persuading him now.
"Recklessness has cost you a great deal, but suspicion and distrust will cost you even more."
"What are you afraid of? Loki? Or the Allfather's anger?"
"Why did losing your hammer send you from one extreme to the other? You are the God of Thunder, Thor. The hammer is only your weapon. It isn't everything you are. Do you understand?"
"…"
Now that Thor was an ordinary man, returning to Asgard meant facing Loki, who currently wielded Asgard's supreme authority.
Worse still, there was a high probability that the entire situation was a trap laid out before him.
Should he take the risk or not?
At his current strength, Thor doubted he could defeat even Asgard's weakest soldier.
But what if something really had happened to Asgard?
Faced with this dilemma, Thor was confronted with an almost impossible choice. No matter what he chose, it seemed wrong. No matter what he did, something could go terribly wrong.
"Should I really take that gamble?"
Thor lowered his head and contemplated the question for a moment. Finally, he looked at Fenris, gritted his teeth, and abruptly raised his head.
"Fenris, this has nothing to do with you. Since everything began because of me, I'll be the one to end it."
"Trust me. I'll bring you the Casket of Ancient Winters."
Thor drew a deep breath, and his gaze instantly became resolute.
He strode forward, passing the motionless Destroyer before stopping in an open stretch of ground. Then he raised his head toward the sky.
"Heimdall!"
"Send down the Bifrost and bring us home!"
His booming voice carried far across the wilderness.
A long time passed without any response. The sky remained perfectly still, and there was no sign of the Bifrost he had expected to appear.
"Heimdall?"
Unable to help himself, Thor called out several more times.
As Asgard's gatekeeper, Heimdall's eyes could easily survey all Nine Realms. No matter where someone called for him within the Nine Realms, he could almost always sense it immediately.
How could there still be no response after so long?
"No…"
Thor stared helplessly at the uneventful sky, his heart gradually sinking into the abyss.
"Could something really have happened to Asgard?"
An ominous thought rose in his mind. The instant Thor and Fenris exchanged glances, they each saw the same grim concern in the other's eyes.
"But that doesn't make sense. Asgard was perfectly fine. How could…"
Without letting it show, Fenris slowly clenched his fist.
Thor, meanwhile, refused to give up. His voice grew louder and louder, with unmistakable anxiety creeping into his tone.
"Heimdall, I know you can hear me! Listen!"
"I may have been banished by my father, but I cannot stand by while Asgard is in danger! Open the Bifrost and let me return! Once everything has been resolved, I'll come back to Midgard myself!"
"Are you being held captive? Find some way to answer me, Heimdall!"
Thor continued staring hopefully into the sky.
After a while, he had shouted until his mouth was dry, yet the familiar rainbow light still failed to appear.
"This is bad, Fenris. I think I may truly have been abandoned…"
At last, Thor let out a long sigh. Realizing that no matter how many times he called, no response would ever come, he lowered his head, collapsed onto the ground, and sat there dejectedly.
"Perhaps Heimdall thinks I'm too weak now and doesn't want me returning only to put myself in danger."
Thor slammed his fist against the ground in frustration. Feeling the burning pain across his knuckles, he finally managed to come up with an explanation that was at least somewhat convincing.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]